The Perfect Sandwich

While strolling through the FOOD & WINE office the other day I stumbled across the art department creating beautifully simple sandwiches. The colorful array of tomatoes, snow white mozzarella, luscious green basil, iridescent sea salt flakes and sea green olive oil made for the most stunning sandwich set up I have ever seen thrown together.

Despite the simplicity of the sandwich and the minimal ingredients used, when combined together a symphony of flavors played across my palate leaving me with one thought: I must recreate this.

To be completely honest, as one that lives to eat rather than eats to live, I pride myself on savoring my meals and therefore carefully selecting the ingredients I work with. When I go grocery shopping I come armed with inspiration while my fiance is financially savvy--in the end our purchases are a mix of high and low ingredients that get the job done but don't compare to farm-to-table plump tomatoes and freshly grown herbs. 

After my sandwich nirvana, I left the FOOD & WINE offices with a destination in mind: the Grand Central Market, a place that brings together some of the city's best foods and holds them all under one roof. The market offers a lovely respite from the bustling, sweaty streets of New York and brings you as close to a farmer's market as you will get during rush hour in midtown Manhattan. Homemade cheese, freshly ground spices, locally grown vegetables and baked treats are just some of the gems that line the walls; I joyfully picked up the freshest ingredients I could find and rushed home to build the perfect sandwich. 

Fifteen minutes later I happily let tomato juice dribble down my chin as the taste of lightly salted mozzarella, home grown basil, sal de guerande, olive oil and french bread filled my mouth. It didn't take a culinary education or even a knack for cooking, but what I learned is that a meal is only as good as the sum of its parts and with fresh ingredients like these, the sum is pretty damn good.